WHAT’S AHEAD:

The video above tells why we are so dedicated to what we do at Atelier26. The following explains what we’re working on.

We’ve long wanted Atelier26 to be the vehicle for a phenomenal literary debut, so we’re positively thrilled about our upcoming November 2015 release of Portland writer Margaret Malone’s brilliant short story collection People Like You. Malone is the real deal, and her work is funny, unsettling, subtle, and moving. People Like You is guaranteed to cause excitement among readers, booksellers, and reviewers, and we’re already at work on a robust and dynamic promotional push to ensure that the book reaches all those folks. Meanwhile Malone’s work is amassing a ton of early and ardent praise. Here’s some from Cheryl Strayed:

"People Like You is a powerful debut by a writer of immense talent. In stories that shimmer and burn with beauty and sorrow, generosity and wit, Margaret Malone reveals the deepest, darkest, and most illuminating truths about what it means to be human. I love this book beyond measure." —CHERYL STRAYED, author of Wild

THIS CAMPAIGN:

As we prepare for the launch of People Like You (our biggest ever), Atelier26 is in the midst of critical growth. The 2015-16 publishing year promises to be our most exciting yet – the next big chapter for this plucky small press and its incredible authors. Following four years of tirelessly representing ourselves to the bookselling trade, we are joining forces with a leading national distributor, Small Press United/Independent Publishers Group, whose far-reaching sales force will help us bring our entire catalog to a much wider array of bookstores and other markets across North America.

Growth of this kind does not come free, of course. In fact, for a tiny literary press that functions along a non-profit model, funding is a major challenge. And yet we are undaunted in our belief that literature is a value in itself, and we know that there is a core population of dedicated readers (like you!) who believe the same, and who buy real physical books on the basis of that belief. We're asking you now to make an investment at whatever level you can.

Your pledge to this campaign will:

• Directly fund the up-front expenses of printing and promotion necessitated by solid national distribution.
• Have a direct impact on the size of the initial People Like You print-run (we want to go big!).
  
• Allow us to make the most of the opportunities before us and sustain our place in the lives of readers.

We’re also pleased to announce that Atelier26 is now a sponsored project of the nonprofit arts services organization Fractured Atlas, which allows your donation through this campaign to be tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

THE DEAL:

A pledge of $25.00* secures you a copy of People Like You, signed by Margaret Malone and delivered to you ahead of the book’s November release date (along with a spiffy bookmark featuring one of Malone's knockout sentences).

A pledge of $50 gets you the above, plus your choice of any two other Atelier26 titles.

See the sidebar for further pledge levels ranging from $15 to $150 Sustaining Supporter and up. (And remember, you can set your own pledge level -- as little as $5 if you wish. Every pledge counts, and every pledge helps!)

*Everyone pledging $15.00 or more here will be entered into regular drawings to receive any of several lovely and distinctive bonus perks throughout the life of this fundraiser.

THE NEXT BIG CHAPTER campaign closes on Monday, August 31st, 2015. We’ve got a vision for this next chapter, and your solidarity means the world to us. With your early support in the form of a People Like You pre-order or other claimed perk, we can realize our quixotic vision! 

Thanks for supporting Atelier26 in our mission to bring to press idiosyncratic, affecting works that linger long in the mind and enrich the literary culture.

Viva, readers!

M. Allen Cunningham, July 2015

Highlights from our recent publishing history:

November 2013 – The Beauty of Ordinary Things by Harriet Scott Chessman

Chessman’s deeply felt, luminously moving fourth novel garnered acclaim from ForeWord Magazine (“A song of the soul…It would be hard to close this book and not feel changed.”), NewPages (“Elegantly crafted.”), and celebrated author Ron Hansen, who called it “soulful, tender, affecting…wonderful.” Chessman appeared at numerous independent bookstores on both coasts.

October 2014 – Gravity by Elizabeth Rosner

Bestselling novelist Rosner’s extraordinarily brave and searching autobiographical poetry collection features original artwork by Lola Fraknoi and has been hailed by Booklist as “daringly, disarmingly raw and honest…a haunting, soulful portrait.” Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea (The Devil’s Highway) calls Gravity “a profound work of true beauty and mystery.” And beloved poet Ellen Bass says, “Perhaps the truest test of any book is whether you feel compelled to share it with a friend. By the time I was halfway through, I was eager to share it with many!”

June 2015 – Someone Not Really Her Mother by Harriet Scott Chessman

We reissued Chessman’s masterful third novel in a newly designed edition following some years out of print. This graceful, elliptical, and deeply compassionate story was a Good Morning America Book Club Selection, an IndieNext Readers Group selection, and a San Francisco Chronicle top pick.

“Chessman paints word pictures bathed in color and light.”—Boston Globe

“An intellectual as well as emotional pleasure…Haunting.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Advance praise for Margaret Malone’s People Like You, coming November 2015:

"Margaret Malone’s masterfully constructed stories simmer with a dry, dark humor that reveals the truth of the human soul. People Like You makes good on the promise of its title, with characters who are fully formed heads and hearts and bodies struggling with loneliness, love (or lack thereof), and who—and how—to be in the modern world." —LIZ PRATO, author of Baby's on Fire

"These are the best kinds of stories, little yin yangs that hold within them all that is beautiful and dull, splendid and sordid, sneaky and forthright, jaded and full of hope. Malone has tremendous powers of observation, and these detailed, plain-mouthed tales have big, beating hearts." —ROBIN ROMM, author of The Mercy Papers and The Memory Garden

"People Like You is a stunning debut. Somehow Malone manages to be both gutsy and subtle at once -- her characters are complicated, messed up in the very best way, and full of depth. Malone's prose is a gorgeous combination of lyricism and colloquialism -- a tight rope she walks with skill.People Like You is full of people like us with all of our sorrows, fears, our wit and damage, and this debut collection deserves many, many readers and high praise!"—LISA GLATT, author of The Nakeds and A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That

"There are moments in Margaret Malone’s collection People Like You when it’s hard to breathe.  Because People Like You are people a lot like you, disturbingly so: awkward, petty, flawed, full of hope and monotony, yearning. Malone is a master of the minimal. ... Whether it’s a dying mother at a slot machine, a drinking pregnant mother stalking sex offenders, or a husband who’s having his prostate checked—every story is flawlessly told, the reader brought to the knees again and again by luxurious moments of intimacy and estrangement. ... And did I mention hilarious?  Don’t let these wonderful stories pass you up.  Margaret Malone is a name that will soon be up there with the best and brightest." —TOM SPANBAUER, author of I Loved You More and recipient of the Stewart Holbrook Literary Legacy Award 

: Reading is not consumerism :

Audio bonus: Learn more about  the background and aims of Atelier26 Books  in this Late Night Library interview with our founder & publisher.